Returning to the matter of pricing—
In other regions, Tongzhou Official Tea was already quite renowned. If funds were tight, traveling merchants usually opted for Tongzhou Official Tea.
Thus, Fang He directly discussed the price of Tongzhou Official Tea: "Tongzhou Official Tea is divided into three grades. The top grade sells for 880 copper coins per catty, the middle grade for 800 copper coins, and the lower grade for 600 copper coins."
Many tea merchants preferred to source tea directly from the Official Tea Office, bypassing shops, believing that tea shops inflated prices. In reality, the price at the Official Tea Office wasn't much lower than in shops.
Unless merchants were familiar faces, Official Tea clerks would still overcharge. Securing tea at lower prices required knowing the right channels and negotiation tactics.
"This shop is a new branch of my family’s business and doesn’t yet have any established merchant partnerships. Brother Huo is my first major supplier, so the price is negotiable."
"If you’re interested in Tongzhou Official Tea, the top grade will cost you 400 copper coins, the middle grade 350 copper coins, and the lower grade 250 copper coins. How does that sound?"
Ji Taoyu was somewhat familiar with tea prices—market rates could be inquired about at any shop, so there was no need to elaborate.
In previous years, when spring arrived, Official Tea Office would recruit tea-picking women. Village women and laborers, eager to earn some extra cash, would rush to finish their spring farming tasks and join the picking.
Tea-picking women were paid by weight: tender tips fetched 20 to 30 copper coins per catty, while regular leaves only a few copper coins.
A skilled tea-picker could earn over a hundred copper coins in a day.
Ji Taoyu had occasionally gone to watch the bustle. With people constantly coming and going at home, tea was consumed faster than in ordinary families, so his father had to buy tea every few days.
The Official Tea Office and the city were roughly the same distance away, and his father preferred buying directly from the Official Tea Office when he had time.
The price there was slightly lower than in shops, but not by much. After accounting for the shop’s markup, it was still manageable—choosing where to buy was simply a matter of preference.
The price Fang He offered was close to what merchants paid when sourcing directly from the Official Tea Office, with no markup.
Since he was being straightforward, there was nothing more to discuss.
The deal was settled at this price.
"What about the prices for Maofeng, black tea, and Liu’an?"
"The market price is around a thousand copper coins."
Maofeng sold for five taels per catty, while black tea and Liu’an were around four taels.
Fang He added, "If affordability is a concern, you could also consider high-grade tea dust."
He produced some samples. This tea dust consisted of broken leaves sifted from premium teas. Though no longer whole, it still brewed a fragrant cup.
Priced at 500 copper coins per catty, it catered to tea lovers who appreciated quality but were short on funds.
"For Maofeng and the others, I can offer a discount of two taels."
Ji Taoyu said, "We should still get some of the good stuff."
Huo Shu replied, "Agreed."
After some deliberation, Huo Shu and Ji Taoyu purchased another 250 taels’ worth of tea. At such favorable prices, they could have bought more, but their funds were limited.
Including their family’s support, they only had about 700 taels in total. Three hundred had already been spent on fabric, and they needed to reserve some for travel expenses and livestock for transport.
Leaving the shop, Ji Taoyu felt relieved.
"Tongzhou porcelain is another common commodity for traveling merchants. I wonder how the market is up north."
Huo Shu said, "The demand won’t be bad, but porcelain is fragile and prone to damage during transport."
As a newly formed trade team with limited manpower and funds, they weren’t yet suited to handle porcelain.
Ji Taoyu acknowledged this.
At any rate, their goods were now mostly secured. The next step was planning the northbound route.
This time, however, Huo Shu didn’t make the arrangements alone. Instead, he decided to discuss the route with Ge Liang.
Tongzhou was located at the southernmost edge of the Yuan dynasty’s territory, while the northern frontier lay at the opposite extreme, spanning several prefectures in between. The route was complex and couldn’t be decided rashly.
Instead of returning to the village, he headed straight to Hongli Village with a map of the Yuan dynasty’s territories.
Ge Liang was training their eleven recruits at an abandoned logging site on the communal mountain between the two villages.
Ji Wenliang had been returning home exhausted these past few days, collapsing into bed as soon as he arrived, it was even more tiring than farming.
When Seventh Uncle Ji asked if he still wanted to continue, he didn’t utter a single complaint.
When Huo Shu arrived, Ge Liang hadn’t returned yet. Thinking he might as well take a look, he decided to go up the mountain and return together later.
"It’s colder up there, and the climb is tiring. Why don’t you wait for me in the village?"
Ji Taoyu nodded, not insisting on following. "Hongli Village has plenty of ponds. I’ll buy some shrimp for dinner."
After Huo Shu left, Ji Taoyu headed to a nearby shrimp pond. As he was about to call out to the owner, he noticed a crowd gathered outside a house beyond a bamboo grove, seemingly watching some commotion.
"Heartless! I’ve slaved away for this family, tending to young and old without a single complaint. You didn’t even come home for the New Year, and now you bring back some vixen? This marriage is over!"
Hearing the noise, Ji Taoyu crept closer.
Inside the courtyard, a woman sat sprawled on the ground, weeping and cursing.
Beside her stood a well-dressed man, with a delicate-looking young man clinging to his arm, unsure whether to help her up or not.
"Get up! Making a scene like some shrew, have you no shame?"
The man tried to pull her up but was shoved away. "Now you think I’m old and ugly, not as pretty as that vixen outside. But who made me this haggard in the first place?"
As the woman continued her tantrum, more villagers gathered to watch, deepening the man’s humiliation.
"I broke my leg out there. If not for his care, I wouldn’t have returned in one piece. Now that his foster mother has passed, leaving him with no one, I brought him home."
Someone chimed in, "Men taking concubines is common. Sister Wang, don’t be so jealous."
The woman spat. "Pah! As if he deserves it! With a few meager fields and shrimp ponds, he thinks he can imitate the nobility? If he doesn’t send that wretch away today, there’ll be no peace!"
Ji Taoyu listened to the drama as the man’s parents arrived, followed by the woman’s relatives. Both sides argued their cases until someone fetched the village head. Soon, Village Head Zhou and his son Zhou Zheng arrived.
Thank you for the update!!!!!
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